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    Home » Wild Mushroom Recipes

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes

    Published: Oct 23, 2015 Modified: Jan 26, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 16 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Nothings says a good morning like a bag of giant lobster mushrooms. Their size can be stunning, along with their heartiness against bugs. These cakes are probably my favorite lobster mushroom recipe.

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes

    I dry plenty throughout the year since it unlocks more of their aroma, but there are some other ways to concentrate their flavor. These cakes are a great method I came up with this year, for just that purpose.

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes
    Shredding the lobsters with a box grater.

    Basically, one day I had a discussion with my line cooks about how just cooking at the stove Isn't enough. I expect them to be creative, experiment, and contribute to menu development, since it makes them more vested in the food, and also helps them learn.

    A couple days later one of them came in early to play with some vegetables and pickles, one of the things he made were little cakes of shredded zucchini. That's when I thought of making these. When I make a cake of shredded vegetables, I salt them lightly beforehand (a little technique I learned from Julia Child).

    The salt allows the vegetables to release water, which would make the batter loose. Afterwards I squeeze out the water, season the the vegetables with salt, herbs, egg, and a little bit of a binder like flour.

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes
    Squeeze out the water, then mix with flour, herbs, and egg.

    Getting to the point, the bulk of a lobster mushroooms weight is made up of...water. Removing some of that water, like when the mushrooms are dehydrated, concentrates their flavor. Salting shredded mushrooms, then squeezing out the water, will have a similar effect of concentrating their flavor.

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes
    Fry gently, and be careful flipping until they're browned and the egg has coagulated.

    Needless to say, these crispy fried mushroom cakes are fantastic. Try them next time you have a bunch.

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes
    Lobster Mushroom Cakes
    Print Recipe
    4.50 from 8 votes

    Lobster Mushroom Cakes

    Yield: 4-6 latkes, enough to serve 2-4 people as an appetizer or component of an entree
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Crabcakes, Lobster Mushroom, Mushroom cakes
    Servings: 2 People
    Calories: 45kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 box grater
    • 1 mixing bowl
    • 1 Cast iron skillet

    Ingredients

    • ½ lb fresh lobster mushrooms trimmed, cleaned, and washed if necessary
    • ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste if needed
    • ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
    • ¼ cup green onion trimmed and diced ¼ inch
    • 1 tablespoon fresh sliced chives
    • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour or more as needed to form the cakes
    • 1 whole large egg plus one egg yolk
    • Clarified butter animal lard, oil, or a combination, as needed for sauteing the cakes

    Instructions

    • Shred the lobster mushrooms on a box grater or through the shredding attachment on a food processor. Mix the shredded mushrooms thoroughly with the salt, then allow to sit for 10 minutes so the salt can draw out their water. Squeeze the shredded mushrooms to remove as much water as possible, then mix with the remaining ingredients except the cooking fat.
    • In a nonstick or seasoned cast iron pan, heat a tablespoon or two of the fat until hot and shimmering. Form a small test cake and fry it on both sides until golden, then cool, taste, and judge the seasoning and texture. If the cakes seem difficult for you to form, add another pinch of flour. If you think they need more seasoning, add a pinch of salt, more herbs, etc and repeat the process until you like the taste.
    • Working in batches, take a couple heaping tablespoons of the mushroom mixture and form into cakes, then fry a few minutes on each side slowly, and gently, until golden brown, flip and repeat, then serve immediately.
    • If you're making a large batch, finished cakes can be held in a warm oven on a cookie rack until the others are done.

    Video

    Notes

    You can vary these any number of ways, like using a blend of big mushrooms like firm boletes or polypores, and the herbs can be tweaked to use what you have on hand, adding a little grated parmesan or ground, dried lobster mushrooms wouldn't hurt either. The proportions in the basic recipe are solid though, and won't let you down.
    They're excellent served with eggs, a little reduced tomato sauce, flavored mayonnaise, a lemon wedge, your favorite condiment, or just straight out of the pan.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2cakes | Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 590mg | Potassium: 422mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 617IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

    More Lobster Mushrooms 

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Wiltshirefoodie

      January 02, 2016 at 3:41 am

      Mmm these look great. We dont have lobster mushrooms here in the UK so I'll have to think of a substitute - given that you grate them they are obviously very firm?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        January 05, 2016 at 4:19 pm

        King oysters would work, as would abalone mushrooms.

        Reply
    2. Claudia Marieb

      August 12, 2018 at 6:07 pm

      I just made these, my first time cooking with lobster mushrooms, and they are YUM. thank you!

      Reply
    3. Megan

      October 11, 2020 at 9:18 pm

      My boyfriend found like 10 lobsters and a friend sent us this awesome recipe.. we are almost done making a batch.. we even scouted out the recipe ingredients to a T.. made three extra trips to the store ha ha cant wait to try them! We are here in oregon where you can find so many lobsters

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 12, 2020 at 10:27 am

        Good deal Megan, you'll love them.

        Reply
    4. Marsha Jacobs

      July 21, 2021 at 7:07 am

      5 stars
      Made these this morning, they were delicious and fancy. I topped mine with garlic scape pesto cream. Thank you for all these amazing recipes!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        July 23, 2021 at 12:49 pm

        Glad they worked for you Marsha. One of my favorites.

        Reply
    5. Sharon Bruster

      September 08, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      I just made these and they are delicious! Smoked paprika isn’t one of my favorite spices though so next time I’ll try half sweet and half smoked and I’m going to throw in a little fresh corn kernels from my first ever corn harvest. I may have to add a bit more flour to hold them together. Thanks for the recipe. Lobster mushroom foraging is such fun.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        September 09, 2021 at 1:32 pm

        Thanks for letting me know Sharon, yes, recipes are just a guide, and my hands are quite used to handling delicate things. If you need to add another pinch of flour, go for it. As for the seasonings, use whatever you like. Enjoy.

        Reply
    6. Morgan

      October 17, 2021 at 9:06 pm

      5 stars
      I was looking for a recipe that wasn’t lobster mushroom bisque and I’m so glad I found this idea. They are delicious! Thank you.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 20, 2021 at 1:14 pm

        Glad it worked for you.

        Reply
    7. Karl Effertz

      May 26, 2022 at 6:40 pm

      Hi Alan,

      We had a bumper year for lobsters last fall and I dehydrated a pile of them. How would you recommend using dried lobsters, grind/powder them? Rehydrate and slice? I really would like to try this recipe before our fall season hits and I find more fresh lobsters.

      Thanks,

      Karl

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 27, 2022 at 10:40 am

        So for lobsters that are dried, I typically grind them to powder and use them to season things like fish. You could rehydrate them and mince them up and make something similar to the cakes here, but I don't think it would be quite the same.

        Reply
      • Joelle

        August 06, 2022 at 12:31 pm

        5 stars
        This is a favorite recipe of mine! Do you think they could be frozen?

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          August 12, 2022 at 4:25 pm

          Yes, I know more than a few people who prep them and freeze the cakes.

          Reply

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    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

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